Southern State Revolving Fund Analysis and Advocacy Project

Although PolicyLink’s Water Equity and Climate Resilience Program is supporting SRF-focused advocacy in several states, the three–year Southern State Revolving Fund (SRF) Analysis and Advocacy Project works on specific interventions in the south, where the racial and economic disparity in clean and affordable water is particularly pronounced due to decades of historical underinvestment and disinvestment in majority Black and People of Color (POC) communities.

This project consists of two main SRF-focused activities to meet our objectives: Phase I: analyses of Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) and Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) state policies and administration in seven southern states in year one (completed in 2023) that will be used to inform the second phase. Phase II: state-based policy advocacy working closely with communities on the ground in three to four states in years two through year three (due to be completed in 2024-2025).

PHASE I: Analysis of DWSRF and CWSRF Across Seven Southern States

In early 2023, PolicyLink partnered with the Environmental Policy Innovation Center (EPIC) to train and support policy analysts across seven southern states (Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Texas) to conduct equity analyses of each state’s Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds. EPIC complemented these analyses with a quantitative analysis on how SRF dollars were spent from 2015-2020. Based on these analyses, the policy analysts developed a set of policy recommendations for state advocates and a series of factsheets for broader dissemination.

PHASE II: Community-Based Organization (CBO) Led Advocacy Across Four States

Of the seven states, PolicyLink selected four states for Phase II — supporting state-based CBO-led SRF advocacy. Those four states are Alabama, Louisiana, Tennessee, and Texas. PolicyLink is working closely with a cohort of 16 CBOs (4 CBOs per state) — these organizations include broad racial justice-oriented community groups, environmental and water groups, and Indigenous organizations, all of whom face unique water challenges in their communities. In 2024, the 16 CBOs will undergo training in SRF advocacy (administered by River Network); conduct their own analyses and outreach to better understand the range of water challenges within their state, as well as barriers that water utilities and others face in applying for SRFs; and collectively advocate for SRF reform informed by the analyses conducted in Phase I.

Our Aging Water Infrastructure Needs Investment

Water infrastructure in the United States is aging and in desperate need of repair and replacement. Many water systems are already failing. Estimates suggest water utilities must invest nearly $1 trillion to repair and upgrade their systems over the next 25 years. Inadequate maintenance of water infrastructure has a significant negative impact on the health and well-being of communities, and disproportionately impacts low-income communities and communities of color due to historical legacies of racism and disinvestment.

New federal funding for water infrastructure included in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) will activate significant projects to close this gap, but urgent action is needed to ensure the funds reach communities that need them the most. More specifically, BIL includes $43 billion for water infrastructure distributed through the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds (SRFs) from 2022 - 2026.

What Are State Revolving Funds?

Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds (CWSRFs and DWSRFs) are the largest source of federal funding for water infrastructure. Congress sets aside money (capitalization grants) to fund SRFs each year, and states provide loans to communities and utilities at below market rates for a variety of water infrastructure projects. Although SRFs are administered at the federal level by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), most of the decisions about how these funds are used and distributed happens at the state level. Allocation of SRFs to utilities/communities follows criteria and processes set by and specific to each state.

The $43 billion included within the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (‘BIL SRF dollars' ) are in addition to existing base SRFs, and structured slightly differently in several ways. Most notably, 49 percent of these funds must be distributed to “disadvantaged communities'' as grants or forgivable loans (rather than loans that need to be repaid). While this should help reduce the burden for underserved communities in utilizing these funds, communities with the greatest need still face several barriers in accessing these funds. To learn more about State Revolving Funds, please visit the SRF State Advocates Forum.

Why Do We Need State Advocacy, Especially in the South?

The Southern United States often experiences the effects of being a national “sacrifice zone” in terms of federal funding and pollution control. Coupled with historic disinvestment by state governments — especially in communities of color — these states often experience great stress from inadequate water supply planning, insufficiently protective water infrastructure, an expanding fossil fuel industry and natural disasters.

Participating Community-Based Organizations (CBOs)

Learn More

To learn more about our Southern SRF Analysis and Advocacy Project, please reach out to Yasmin Zaerpoor, Director of Water Equity and Climate Resilience, at yasmin@policylink.org.